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EPA Cites Null Land, Inc. For Violations At Fayette County Construction Site

Release Date: 6/4/1999
Contact Information: Bonnie Smith (215) 814-5543

NORTH UNION TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has cited Null Land, Inc., a Mount Braddock, Pa. developer for Clean Water Act violations at a construction site in North Union Township in Fayette County. In administrative complaints filed on May 26, 1999, EPA seeks a total penalty of $91,500 against the company for filling in wetlands and discharging stormwater runoff from two sites without a permit.

Federal law requires owners of industrial and construction operations of five or more acres to obtain a permit before discharging storm water runoff into U.S. waterways. These state-issued permits must include a storm water pollution prevention plan, including practices such as oil spill prevention, proper storage of waste fluids, and worker training in environmental requirements. Stormwater runoff from industrial and construction activities often contains pollutants such as rock, sand, oil and grease, chemicals, nutrients, and oxygen-demanding compounds.

The law also requires an Army Corps of Engineers permit before dredged or fill material may be discharged into wetlands areas. Permits are required to minimize the loss of wetlands, which serve a number of critical environmental values, including flood control, water filtration, and wildlife habitat.

Null Land did not obtain a stormwater or wetlands permit for construction activities beginning in June 1996 on the two contiguous sites when expanding a hotel
near Route U.S. 40. In October 1996, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a violation notice to the company for failing to implement appropriate erosion controls, failing to obtain a Clean Water Act permit for stormwater runoff, and creating sediment pollution to a tributary of Jennings Run.

The next month, DEP ordered Null Land to stop earthmoving activities at the site, and develop and implement an erosion and sedimentation control plan. Inspections by DEP and the Fayette County Conservation District in November 1996 and May and July of 1997 confirmed that the construction activity at the site was causing sediment pollution in Jennings Run.

Null Land allegedly discharged storm water runoff without a permit on at least three occasions in 1996 and 1997, and dumped fill material into protected wetlands without a permit in the summer and fall of 1997.

EPA proposes a $75,000 penalty for the storm water violations and a $16,500 penalty for the wetlands violations. EPA has also ordered the company to submit a complete application to obtain a permit for stormwater discharge from a construction site, and restore the wetlands filled in their construction.

The company has the right to a hearing to contest the alleged violations and proposed penalties.